Small Talk with Sheila
Thanks to the strategy, production and growth support, this podcast had more than 100 times more listeners in just six months of partnership. These milestones were all achieved organically, with minimal to no ad spend.
+12,000%
Downloads
6
Months
Some think that the most difficult part of launching a show is the launch itself. The real challenge is keeping the momentum and staying consistent. What if you follow all the rules and growth is still lacking? That can be the most frustrating moment in a podcaster’s journey. So, that might also be the time to bring professionals on board - a second pair of eyes that knows the industry, works on understanding you, and a partner who will become your cheerleader.
In this case study, we share the strategies used at PodVision to support Small Talk with Sheila, a personal storytelling podcast where the mundane meets the magical in the most delightful and humorous ways. We supported STWS in escaping a plateau by increasing its listenership x120 times (yes, you read that right), elevating the content, and developing and implementing a YouTube strategy. Thanks to the strategy, production and growth support, STWS had more than 100 times more listeners in just six months of partnership.
These milestones were all achieved organically, with minimal ad spend.
Small Talk with Sheila was released in November 2024 as a personal storytelling podcast sharing the host, Sheila Khazan’s, personal anecdotes in different life areas from dating and friendship to work and confidence. After more than one year of consistent publishing and investment, STWS was yet to meet growth expectations. The host’s social media presence built a community with existing listeners, but it was not contributing to reaching new audiences.
STWS reached out to us ready to move on from previous production partners that did not meet her vision for the show. Sheila was looking for a new perspective on podcast growth and receive support on refining the overall strategy all the way from video to the content itself.
The consistency was there, episodes were full of dynamism and engaging storytelling but they were not reaching a solid audience. It was PodVision’s job to figure out why. Thanks to the strong foundation of STWS, we were confident that the podcast had a real potential to have a larger audience.
For a plateauing podcast, our method is to start from the top. It’s difficult to have a conversation about growth without first looking at what can be tweaked. Once that’s cleared and there’s a plan in place on how to move forward, elevate the strategy and implement it, only then it’s time for growth.
During the first year, STWS explored with multiple formats and content styles. The podcast went from an audio-first narrative show rich in sound design to a more conversational tone that prioritizes YouTube and social media.
Switching to a YouTube-first podcast means revisiting elements of your presentation: title formatting, thumbnails, video animations, how the first minute of each episode grabs your audience’s attention, etc.
For the first month, our team ran a 360 audit of the podcast to identify and make the necessary tweaks of getting STWS to the best position to be promoted.
A large focus of the audit was looking at STWS as a YouTube-first podcast.
That means:
Along the six months of collaboration with STWS, each element was added to the backend of the production process, to improve the listener experience and create a simple, efficient, and still high-quality production.
The first step in getting a podcast out there to more potential listeners is having it spotlit in all the right places. The right places are those where podcast listeners already are: listening apps, podcast industry newsletters, podcast review outlets, etc.
STWS was pitched to all the right places: podcasting-related as well as niche newsletters covering the topics heard in STWS. The niche newsletters were especially targeted because STWS is a video-first podcast, which means the audience doesn’t necessarily have to be an avid podcast listener, but a YouTube user, which, in this case, expands the possibilities.
The podcast was featured in some of the largest and most reputable podcasting newsletters: Podcasting Today, Podcast Marketing Magic, Podnews, Podcast Rex, Podcast Delivery, Ear Worthy, The Podcast Space, #impact newsletter and community and Self Care Oasis.
By far, the most impactful buzz-building moment for the podcast was its feature in Castbox, thanks to its partnership with PodVision. The feature, highlighted in the Staff Favorites section, brought show at least 1,875 subscribers within about three days.
Following a buzz-building push, long-term growth needs to be sustained by partnerships with like-minded podcasts. That requires targeted, intentional research and clear communication between partners.
Over three months, Sheila was a guest on three podcasts with audience overlap: Arrivals, Creativity Found: Finding Creativity Later in Life and Immigrantly. The guesting features allowed potential new listeners to get to know her, better understand her story and her personality, and have their curiosity peaked to look at the STWS feed.
STWS also ran cross-promotion with What Your Therapist Thinks, Love-ly: Exploring Modern Relationships and CBC’s Creation Myth. All partnerships were carefully researched, selected and coordinated with by our team to ensure that both podcasts were accurately represented to each other’s audiences, in a way that will grab their attention, point to the content match, and peak their curiosity.
Another one of the strategies explored was a minimal ad spend campaign with Disco by Headliner. The service converts web traffic into podcast listens by placing the show on online media outlets with similar target audiences. Our team researched, coordinated and reported on the ad spend campaign and its results.
This minimal ad spend generated 1,109,261 impressions over 21 days. It was the extra push to extend STWS to new potential audiences outside of the podcasting realm.
Having the support of trusted professionals and the creator’s commitment, STWS was able to surpass the initial expectations of the collaboration and amass an audience 100 times larger than six months previous.
By working with a professional team, STWS achieved:
Escaping a plateau with the right strategy and partners will set you up for success.
If you want to learn more about how we can support your podcast, reach out!
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